At its meeting last Tuesday, the Landau City Council approved by a large majority the sale of plot D12 in the “Am Messegelände Südost” industrial area to Vulcan. With this decision, Vulcan has received the green light to acquire the site where the company will construct a combined geothermal and lithium facility (G-LEP). As part of Vulcan’s first project phase, “Lionheart,” the plant will supply climate-neutral heat to the Landau region and extract sustainable lithium on a commercial scale – making a key contribution to the energy and mobility transition.

Back in June 2024, the city council had already approved the D12 development plan, which laid the foundation for the project’s implementation. In November 2024, Vulcan secured an option agreement for the land. This was followed by an early works agreement with the City of Landau in January 2025. With the recent approval of the land purchase, another significant milestone has been reached in the construction of the facility.

In the new industrial area, which spans around 42 hectares in total, Vulcan will acquire a 10-hectare plot (100,000 m²). On this site, an ORC geothermal power plant, a lithium extraction plant (LEP), and a district heating center will be built to supply Landau’s district heating network with climate-neutral energy in the future. To ensure secure grid connection of the ORC geothermal plant, Vulcan will also construct a dedicated 110/20 kV substation, which will connect to the high-voltage grid of Pfalzwerke. This substation will transform the electricity generated by the geothermal plant to the required voltage level, enabling efficient use for both internal consumption and grid feed-in. Construction permits for both the geothermal facility and the associated substation have already been granted.

The lithium extracted at the G-LEP site will subsequently be processed into the final product, lithium hydroxide monohydrate, at a central lithium facility in Frankfurt-Höchst. The permit for the construction and operation of this facility was also officially handed over on Tuesday by Regional President Prof. Dr. Jan Hilligardt at the Höchst Industrial Park.

“The city council’s approval is a strong signal of regional support for our Lionheart Project. We are working closely with the City of Landau to ensure a climate-neutral heat supply for the region,” said Thorsten Weimann, Chief Development Officer and Managing Director of Vulcan Energie Ressourcen GmbH. “With the land now secured, we can prepare the next steps for building our combined geothermal and lithium facility, which will play a vital role in decarbonizing Landau’s district heating system.”

Once financing is secured, the land purchase will be finalized and construction preparation will begin. Vulcan plans to complete financing for the Lionheart Project in the second half of 2025.